1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cell of a magnetic tape library device which includes a housing space for housing a plurality of magnetic tape cartridges in series by aligning the directions thereof and an insertion/extraction port for inserting and extracting the plurality of magnetic tape cartridges, and to a cartridge misinsertion preventing mechanism thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a technique related to preventing misinsertion of the magnetic tape cartridges, a library device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2010-86578 (paragraphs 0005, 0021, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, FIG. 6C) (Patent Document 1), for example, is known.
This is a technique with which a medium position detecting mechanism constituted with a color filter, an arm rotating mechanism, and the like is provided to each housing position of each magnetic tape cartridge, and misplacement of the magnetic tape cartridges is detected by an optical detecting module constituted with a light source and a mirror. However, the structure thereof is complicated, so that the manufacturing cost of the magnetic tape library device is increased substantially.
Further, this device has only a function of detecting the misplacement of the magnetic tape cartridges but has no function of preventing misinsertion of the magnetic tape cartridge itself.
In the meantime, as the cartridge misinsertion preventing mechanism of the magnetic tape library device cell which is designed to house a plurality of magnetic tape cartridges in series by aligning the directions thereof, those disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2010-86578 (paragraphs 0005, 0021, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, FIG. 6C) (Patent Document 2) and the like, for example, are already known.
In general, as shown in FIG. 8, a magnetic tape cartridge 100 includes a tapered face d, which is formed by a face that is oblique to an insertion-side end face a and one side-face b and orthogonal to another one-end face c and is connected to the insertion-side end face a, the one side-face b, and the another one side-face c in width of less than the thickness of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 in the normal direction of the another one side-face c at a corner part X formed by the one side-face b adjacent to the insertion-side end face a, the another one side-face c adjacent to the insertion-side end face a and the one side-face b, and the insertion-side end face a in order to clarify the insertion direction of the magnetic tape cartridge 100.
Further, a magnetic tape library device cell 101 which houses a plurality of magnetic tape cartridges 100 in series by aligning the directions thereof includes a housing space 102 for housing the plurality of magnetic tape cartridges 100 and an insertion/extraction port 103 for inserting and extracting those magnetic tape cartridges 100 as shown in FIG. 9, for example.
As shown in FIG. 9, for example, a conventional cartridge misinsertion preventing mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2 and the like is constituted with an entry preventing nail 104 fixed by being projected inside the housing space 102 from an inner wall 13 of the housing space 102 corresponding to the one side-face b of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 in a position slightly closer to the insertion/extraction port 103 than the insertion completed position of the insertion-side end face a of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 inserted first and where the isolated distance in the normal direction from the another one side-face c of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 in a housed state is within a range of the width of the tapered face d.
That is, through fixing the entry preventing nail 104 at the position where isolated distance from the another one side-face c of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 inserted first is within the range of the width of the tapered face d, the magnetic tape cartridge is allowed to be inserted into the insertion completed position that is at the farther position than the entry preventing nail 104 by providing no interference between a corner part X and the entry preventing nail 104 for the first magnetic tape cartridge 100 inserted in an appropriate direction as shown in FIG. 9. In the meantime, for the first magnetic tape cartridge 100 inserted in an inappropriate direction, a corner part located on an diagonal line of the corner part X on the insertion-side end face a of the first magnetic tape cartridge 100 or a corner part of an opposite-to-insertion-side end face e (see FIG. 8) is designed to interfere with the entry preventing nail 104 so as to prevent misinsertion of the magnetic tape cartridge 100.
However, such structure can only prevent the misinsertion of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 to be inserted first but cannot prevent misinsertion of the magnetic tape cartridges 100 inserted thereafter. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, even if the next magnetic tape cartridge 100 is inserted with its front and rear sides being reversed, the two magnetic tape cartridges 100 are finely housed within the housing space as long as the direction of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 inserted first is appropriate.
As a device capable for being converted into a magnetic tape library device as a technique for preventing misinsertion of the second cartridge and thereafter, a tape cartridge automatic loader disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Hei 11-45534 (paragraphs 0022, 0032, FIG. 6, FIG. 10) (Patent Document 3), for example, is known.
This is in a structure in which a misinsertion preventing module that is retreated by being pressed by a tilt face of a cartridge is placed inside a housing space, and the misinsertion preventing module is abutted against a straight-up face of the cartridge inserted inappropriately to prevent the misinsertion of the cartridge. Thus, under a specific condition, i.e., in a case where a plurality of cartridges are inserted one by one with a time interval, it is possible to appropriately prevent the misinsertion of the second cartridge and thereafter.
However, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, in a case where the opposite-to-insertion-side end faces e (see FIG. 8) of two magnetic tape cartridges 100 are abutted against each other and the first magnetic tape cartridge 100 is inserted in an appropriate direction, it is not possible to prevent the misinsertion of the magnetic tape cartridge inserted thereafter.
This is because a continuous flat face is formed by the side faces of the two magnetic tape cartridges 100 whose opposite-to-insertion-side end faces e (see FIG. 8) are being abutted against each other as shown in FIG. 9, i.e., the one side-face b of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 to be inserted first and the another side-face f of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 to be inserted next (corresponds to top face in FIG. 6 and FIG. 10 of Patent Document 3), so that a return action of the misinsertion preventing module cannot be executed by being impeded by the continuous flat face and insertion of the next magnetic cartridge 100 is allowed even when the opposite-to-insertion-side end face e (see FIG. 8) of the magnetic tape cartridge 100 inserted first passes the set position of the misinsertion preventing module.
While FIG. 9 shows a case where the first magnetic tape cartridge 100 is inserted in an appropriate direction and the next magnetic tape cartridge 100 is to be inserted with its front and rear sides being reversed and its opposite-to-insertion-side end face e being abutted against the opposite-to-insertion-side end face e of the first magnetic tape cartridge 100 as a way of example, the same issue is also generated in a case where the next magnetic tape cartridge 100 is to be inserted with its top and back faces being reversed and its insertion-side end face a being abutted against the opposite-to-insertion-side end face e of the first magnetic tape cartridge 100 and in a case where the next magnetic tape cartridge 100 is to be inserted with its front and rear sides as well as its top and back faces being reversed and its opposite-to-insertion-side end face e being abutted against the opposite-to-insertion-side end face e of the first magnetic tape cartridge 100. It is therefore an exemplary object of the present invention to provide a simple-structure cartridge misinsertion preventing mechanism capable of securely preventing misinsertion of magnetic tape cartridges, particularly misinsertion of the second magnetic tape cartridge and thereafter and misinsertion of the magnetic tape cartridges whose opposite-to-insertion-side end faces are abutted against each other, i.e., misinsertion even under a state where a continuous flat face is formed in the side faces of the magnetic tape cartridges, without requiring a complicated medium position detecting mechanism and an optical detection module.